Fab Feb 2009: too sleep deprived to think of a new thread title

[dinkystinky]

'nuff said

Also, yesterday I switched to size 2 teats and he seems a bit better colic wise, he isn't working so hard to get the milk.

my kids are still in pyjamas

mad night last night, cat gave birth in a drawer of the toy shelves in the playroom so between dealing with her and sorting dinner it was gone 9 when the kids went to bed meant we got a bit of a lie in this morning though which was nice.

dp is still a changed personality, he's cleaned the playroom, tidied up, is bringing the kids up for a bath now..... feels like a proper family finally... hope to god it lasts.

MrsY and SMS - thanks for the colic info. Which bottles do you use SMS? I use MAM and have been on size 2 teats since about week two!! I'm thinking about switching to Dr Brown but they are sooo expensive! Also, are they a pain to clean? Think the Tommee Tippee ones are similar?

Is anyone else using Colief? It's a bit of a hassle isn't it? Especially with demand feeding. Last night was a bad night for Sam but think that's because he's on his second cold and was getting really distressed. DH on a stag do so I'm on duty alone tonight.

PT sounds like an eventful night in your house! How lovely to see those mewing kittens!! How many are there? I'd love a cat but DH hates them. Mind you, think I'd better get past the baby stage before having to look after anything else.

Just been to park then had sausages and beans in the library cafe just the four of us: DD, Sam, me and Igglepiggle! DD in bed now but I can hear her telling Mr & Mrs Pontipine off for some reason. Just about to hang washing on the line then get the house straight for when my friend comes round ... in 40 mins. Oh God, i'd better run ....

Aw PT more newborns in the house . Glad your DP has pulled his socks up, at least for now anyway.

SMS - I've just been and bought some 9oz bottles today thinking that DD might be ready to take more than 4oz at a go.. I tend to give her 4oz and then "top" her up just before she goes down to sleep. She just can't seem to take much more at one more sitting but can take a bit more if I do it this way. I remember trying her with a size 2 teat a while ago and she projectile vomited the whole feed over me and DH but maybe that might encourage her to take a bit more too ?? I think she's about 11lbs now but I must go on Tuesday to have her weighed. I've not been for a few weeks .

I know lots of you are breastfeeding and I don't know if this makes a difference because I'm ff but do you think it's still normal for DD (at 10 weeks) to be possetting pretty much the whole of her awake time? It isn't much but she just spews bits out the side of her mouth every so often and is therefore always has damp sicky clothes. It doesn't bother her much but I just wonder if it's normal. DS wasn't a sicky baby at all (I never needed to use a muslin for him even as a baby as he was never sick although now he has a tonne of them as comforters with his thumb sucking !) so I don't have any experience with it. She's taking an ok sized feed and is sleeping well at night and putting on weight so there aren't any "worrying" signs IYSWIM.

Dinky - I recorded The Wire and watched the first one and just couldn't get on with it. I found it too depressing and wasn't sure if I'd have time to keep up with it...Generally I'm a big fan of US series but I didn't get it. Maybe I'm missing something ???

DS's trampoline has arrived today (early birthday pressie and was an absolute bargain from some internet company) so DH is busy in the garden making an "area" for it to go in with wood and mulch stuff(he loves doing things like that). DH and DS are carting mulch from the front to the back of the house- DH with his mansize wheelbarrow and DS with his diddy plastic one. It is sooo cute to watch. DH's pain in the arse sister is arriving shortly. I might have to find an urgent job to do.

Sorry some of you haven't had this gorgeous spring weather - It's lovely here again today too....

Sam has turned into a mad colicky type baby and I got 15 mins sleep on Tuesday, none at all on Wednesday and discovered Dentinox on Thursday bloody good job as was about to collapse!

Doh - DS1 up from his nap already! I swear they have a radar for when I sit down to MN!!

Hope everyone is well x

Oh no Spotty - sounds like you're still having a shocker! Hope you're catching up on your much missed sleep - am glad the dentinox is doing the trick. Danny turned in to crazy colic child last week too due to cold - basically either screaming or throwing up most of the time - but seems to be coming out the other side of it now thank god. Between that and the incessant drilling outside (which is STILL going on - its saturday for gods sake and they started up at 7.30!) I was seriously about to lose it! Will bear the dentinox in mind though if it happens again...

Herbgarden - re possetting: Danny possets quite a bit. I've taken to putting lined bibs on him which I hate doing but have to as between the possetting and the rather bob-on-bob-off feeding approach he has he'd be soaked in milk all day long otherwise. I think DS1 (who only did it occasionally) grew out of it at around the 4 or 5 month mark. And as for The Wire - the first episode didnt grab me much either but is getting much better (now on episode 4 and hooked...)

SMS - glad your DP has agreed to toe the line re baths.

Pink - wow, more babies in your house!! Did you know the cat was pregnant again? How many kittens did she have? Glad your DP is behaving himself: long may it last!

Catstar/STW - hope you're coping ok and Little O goes to sleep. Sorry to hear Sam has colic too - seems to be a lot of it going around...

JenniferT - our 3 year old has been waking early too for the past few days - I think the clocks changing may have triggered it. He was better today (had to dust off the Kidsleep alarm clock) but may be because he did a late night poo and had a nosebleed late last night so had double wakings for changes/clean ups which tired him out.

We nipped out to Brent Cross this morning to stock up on supplies as we're doing operation potty train DS1 over Easter (as he's nearly 3 and interested-ish and most of his groups are closed for the next 2 weeks) but had a disaster at Mothercare as he is adamant he wants Ben 10 underpants and they'd sold out! He had to settle for George Pig pants and a Ben 10 lollipop instead - something tells me he wont be so fussed about weeing all over the George Pig pants. Off to a toddler birthday party down the road from us this afternoon - DS1 cant wait as his little friend down the road has a world of toys to play with...

STW..... dp's not mad about the cats but he's aknowledged that he's stuck with the crazy cat lady and seems resigned to tripping over them 24/7.... although he did fix the bedroom door after breaking it 18 months ago and ignoring it since when i pointed out the small cat wouldn't sleep on his head if he couldn't get in the bedroom

momma cat had 5, 2 black and white and 3 jet black... which brings our total cat population up to 8 i'm going to have to find a vet that will spay while she's still feeding as she's getting pregnant each time before she weans the last lot of kittens.

spotty, sorry sam's gone colicy on you. remember the mantra 'this too will pass'. and make sure you give yourself breaks from the crying... better for him you go have a cuppa and leave him in the cot for 5 mins than you reach breaking point and snap at him when the screaming goes on for hours.

herby.. aaron possets alot too, i thought it was mild refux as he was very cross for a few weeks but once his cold cleared he cheered up no end but is still sicking a fair bit... doesn't seem to bother him so i think it's normal enough, had the other extremes with dd and ds1... dd was a reflux baby and ds1 never once sicked up unless he was down with a bug!

PT Congrats on the kittens. How lovely. Are they and mummy cat all doing ok?
STW I use the Dr Browns. Ds1 was really bad with the colic too. I was using the Avent bottles when a few people recommended the Dr Browns, and yes they are a bit expensive, but at the time with ds1, I was willing to try anything to make him a bit more comfortable.
They are a bit of a pain to clean when you are used to a standard bottle as there are extra bits and I can only fit 3 in my 6 bottle steriliser, but you get used to it. The thing I think you need to ask yourself is, he'll grow out of the colic all on his own at around 12/14 weeks anyway regardless of what you do, so are you willing to spend the extra money on something that may or may not help him? Luke isn't as bad as ds1 was (I don't think) but he still isn't very comfortable. I'm not sure if there is any difference in him than there woul;d be if I was using any other brand bottles iyswim.
I'm using Dentinox colic drops that you just add into the milk, so is really easy to use no matter how you feed in regards to routine or demand. They def seem to help the wind as the drops breaks down the enzymes in the milk. You can see when you add the dentinox to the milk that it's doing something and when you wash the bottles in hot soapy water, it breaks down all the bubbles from the washing up liquid.
herb When ds1 started possetting and being sick after each feed, i took him to the gp who told me although it's perfectly normal for a baby to posset, it's not normal for it to be happening after every feed. We then saw a paed at the hospital who agreed and suggested we switch to an anti-reflux formula (presciption only), which we did, but the sickness continued well into weaning, but it made him more comfortable as he was quite distressed with the sickness. The hv's told me there was no way he was sicking up as much as I said he was (at least half a feed) and that it couldn't be reflux as he was putting on so much weight he wasn't even on the graph anymore, but we found treating him for reflux helped him. I was always told as long as they are gaining weight ok then it's nothing to worry about, nd if she seems ok and isn't bothered by the spossetting, then she probably is fine. Maybe just discuss with your hv next time you are at clinic, see what she says.
Spotty My dc's seem to know when I want to MN as well......

I may not have to bring ds1 to the meet-up tuesday. Dp is at home in the day so I told him he could come with us as thought some of you were also thinking of bringing OH's but he said he thought he might stay at home and 'chill-out' see he has a day off work and thinks he can have a day off life, so I asked him if he could have ds1 here so I could just bring Luke and concentrate on talking babies and he said ok. I feel quite guilty about the idea of taking one out with me and not the other, although me and ds1 are going to the farm with our local sure start centre next week and Luke is staying at home with my dad, so they each have a day on their own with me.

Gotta do bedtime with Luke now.

Thanks SMS - after this evening's crying episode I am willing to try anything no matter what it costs. Am sitting here feeling pretty fed up to be honest. Sam is still not asleep having screamed for 2 and a half hours solidly tonight - and I think there's more to come. DD is in her cot saying "It's alright Baby Sam" over and over again and it's breaking my heart that she can hear it all. DH is on a stag night so on my own for tonight. I've just stuffed down a bowl of cereal which has been my staple diet for the past few days. Not sure I can take another 6/8 weeks of this. Well, I know I have to, but I'm really not enjoying my life at the moment (does that sounds really bad?). I know this stage doesn't last forever but it seems such a slog.

Gonna give Colief a few more days trial, just in case, then will swtch back to Dentinox.

Herbgarden - I had a similar thing with DD. She threw up after every feed, but always put lots of weight on and never seemed in discomfort. We tried Gaviscon for a while but it made no difference so in the end we just rode it out with lots of muslins, bibs and clothing changes. She improved when we weaned her and by the time she was 1, she was not being sick at all. As SMS says, maybe see what your health visitor thinks.

OK - next crying bout beginning now so brace yourselves...

STW Believe me, I know exactly how you are feeling at the moment. You sound like me after ds1. He was awful. The most horrid thing about colic is that it tends to hit in the evening and lasts about 4 hours (so on the bright side, you are over halfway there). Sometimes I think colic would be far easier for us to cope with if it hit in the morning when we are at our most (but not much) rested.
There's no denying that 8 weeks is a bloody long time, but in a year, all of this will be a faint memory and as you know there are such wonderful things to come.
After ds1 was born, I spent the first 3 months not really sure I was cut out to be a mother and I hated myself for that. I had to constantly remind myself that it was not the baby's fault, but it is very hard to comfort a screaming baby when you are exhausted and adjusting to a new way of life.
Luke is a complete nightmare when his hits bad, here is a list of some of the things I do to help
Feed him upright
Keep him sitting up for a while after each feed
Change the nappy when you stop to wind halfway through
Gripe water before the feed, just half a spoon incase you need to use it again at the end
Try to hold him against you or over the shoulder,or face down across you lap to apply gentle pressure to his belly
Lay baby face up along your thighs and move his legs in a cycle motion
Swaddling

When ds1 has been in bed and Luke has been screaming, I've sometimes heard ds1 yelling "Bubba, bubba, bubba" so (I know it's not ideal) I've got him up and brought him to living room so he can see the baby is ok and can give him a little kiss, then had some hug time with ds1 as I think he also needs the reassurance that everything is ok iyswim.
I hope this has helped a little.
Make sure you get some time 'off' tomorrow when your dh is around and try to get an early night.

STW - am sending you huge hugs and a truckload of virtual chocolate - take solace in it (those fake happy hormones released by chocolate sound much in need). SMS has already posted some great advice to you - it will pass and soon be a very distant memory and Sam will get better. Have you or DH tried slinging Sam (being upright and against you may reduce his distress) - when DS1 used to spend his early evenings in meltdown mode I'd get DH to take him out for a walk in the baby bjorn so I'd get a break from the noise for an hour or so and the change of scene/fresh air/being upright in the carrier seemed to help calm him abit - or maybe it just calmed me enough to be able to deal with it.

Been out all day visiting various family members.

I did wonder whether we should start an annual Colic Relief day on here

We tried Colief weeks ago - I lasted a few days as am BF and it is a joke to do. Didn't seem to make any difference. The gripe water does. The infant gaviscon we were given doesn't for the wind, but seems to help with the puking - our Luc is one sicky baby, always has a bib on and gets through at least 2-3 a day and the same for tops and we always have at least one muslin in the vicinity. He seems fine though. The worst is the hiccoughs where the first couple are usually accompanied by sick.

We have tried all the suggestions on here....just try now to keep calm with it. But that's the hardest.

P.s. STW - I have 2 Dr Brown bottles (never used) from when I was doing bottle battle with DS1 2 years ago (bought every bottle under the sun - he finally took a bottle before we tried the Dr Browns). Am more than happy to bring them along to the meet up on Tuesday if you'd like them...

Just checked weather report for Tuesday - currently forecasting rain for the morning. Am hoping the long range forecast improves before then...

sms... dd didn't stick to evening crying sadly.... she woke up crying and spent all day crying and then cried at night

i'm sure there were good bits in between but sadly alot of what i remember from those first months is incessant screaming... and she started teething at 3 months and was miserable with teeth popping up and down in her gums and none of them staying up above gum leval til 11 months!

my older 2 seem completely immune to aaron crying day or night suppose it's a good thing though, lol

dinky.... we can hold (pee covered) hands over the hols as i'm going to get militant about the potty training too. ds1 officially bursts the buttons on his cotton nappies and i cannot afford to be buying sposies right now.

he's peed all over the house today but at bedtime managed a few drops of pee in the toilet (after peeing on the floor!) which is big news as it means he's starting to grasp how to physically make himself go when he needs to. unfortunately the little devil darling throws a strop if you try and make him go to the toilet if he's not interested so bringing him at regular intervals doesn't work for us so not sure how to go about this! chocolate bribary may be necessary

momma cat is chilled and happy and the kittens are squeeking merrily so all's well... need to ring a vet that some people have recommended to me next week and see how soon he can spay her though.... she can't keep getting pregnant like this or she won't survive long, she's a tiny wee thing herself.

PT Ds1 cried constantly too from morning to night, but I have heard that colic tends to take the pattern of 4 hours in the evening. Luke's just all over the place ith it.
Horrible isn't it? Nevermind.
Goodluck with the toilet training, sounds like it's moving in the right direction though, I am not looking forward to that stage
Pleased the cat and kittens are all well.

Pink - DS1 managed a poo in the loo before bath time today (well during bathtime - DH managed to plonk him out of the bath on the loo when he started doing his I want a poo dance); am sure that's now it for the year and we'll be back to nocturnal poos again...

sadly ds1 has the same ooky tummy as dd has.... not bad enough to restrict the foods that cause it but poo does sort of drop out of him with no warning and splat on the floor.

what i'd give for a poo dance..... he can be mid stride when it happens and is usually as surprised as we are bless him

he did get the tail end of a poo in the toilet for dp last week but that seems to have been a one off.

[sigh] maybe i'm kidding myself and just need to stock up on sposies

I miss you all! but spending lots of time feeding, sleeping, washing and going to various baby groups. Been to so many and love it. We have 3 sure start centres all close by and so been to weekly

baby clinic which is 2 hours and you take turns to weigh baby but sit in lovely room with other mums and babs to before and after

buggy fit, love it.

BF support group STILL HURTS!!!! TRIED EVERYTHING!!! BUT seeing BF "expert" who is helping me with positioning

mum and baby cinema, oh how lovely to watch film and able to feed and change babs plus if she cries no one is fussed

love to all you abulous mums xxx

I meant fabulous not abulous! Is anyone abulous yet? Got 6 week check Monday so may think about abs after that!

littlesez it's lovely to hear you sounding so happy and obviously enjoying motherhood.

With the painful BF, have you ruled out thrush?

Littlesez, you sound like me with ds regarding the feeding, it took until 10 weeks for me to be healed and I tried all sorts of things. Eventually these things helped(not sure which was the deciding factor). I got 'silverette cups'- they stopped the breastpad rubbing if nothing else; I got my nipples out whenever possible to let the fresh air at them; When feeding I squashed my whole nipple and shoved as much as possible in to ds' mouth- advise which has helped this time too!; I used lashings of lansinoh which my lovely GP put on repeat prescription for me!;And like THOM suggested, i got treated for thrush (just cream not pills though). It was a really tough start to feeding but I am still feeding him now, 22 months later . In fact, I was so determined that he would be bf, I forgot to give him bottles of ebm in those early days- he then would never take a bottle so be warned! This time I was prepared for a challenge, and after a painful first couple of weeks, things got pain free really quickly ( I even used dreaded nipple shields this time for a few feeds to avoid doig more damage, they worked fine for me). Good luck, you have come this far so I'm sure you will get it sorted

Oh dear, think dd has been neglected- just shown her a 'woozit' and she sqealed with joy and is still smiling at it. I'm sure with PFB ds I had got the baby gym out by now!

Had another night here. Ds1 woke at 10pm, went into him and he was really hot, temp of 37.6 so gave some nurofen, then Luke woke up screaming for food (I thought) so just got ds1 up, got bottle ready, got Luke up and he was soaked through. So changed him and his bed and fed him anyway. Took ages to settle him, then ds1 had to go back to bed but took ages to settle him too. I finally got in my bed at 1am only to discover that downstairs were having some sort of wild party. Again. Now I don't mind a bit of noise at all, and have never complained, but it is really loud and it's every weekend now til gone 2am and sometimes during the week. I am very tempted to put my heels on and jump up and down on the wood floor in my living room and when she knocks here to complain to laugh at her! She has a 5 week old baby too which is why I remain considerate through the day and tell everyone to take their shoes off at the door. Have friends coming today, they can keep their shoes on. I am really petty aren't I?
Then the boys were waking all through the night again too, ds1 came into my bed at about 5am.
Hopefully tonight'll be better.
What's everyone upto today?

littlesez You do saound like you are really enjoying being a mum. I am so pleased. I'll have to have a look at where my nearest baby cinema is, would love to do that!

sorry for barging in.. i have chicken pox.. i am so upset ... so no meet up on tuesday, and our trip abroad to visit family on the 13th of April is looking as likely as a snow storm in a desert.....and DD is only 8 weeks old ..